kings

[daniel p]

what was the role of kings in the tudor period.

[dot.hawkes]

they considered they were God's equal in earthly form.

[Lonnie]

Further to dots answer, they were head of state, and the ruler of the state, top dog, or as dot might say, top God.

They answered to no-one but themselves, and everyone answered to them, unless you take the Church into the equation.

[dot.hawkes]

ok so Lonnie has forced me to enlarge on my answer, they were despots, they had a progressive regime that kept in step with national opinion by their use of parliament. henry V11's Government was imitative in many ways of his Yorkist predecessors. The battle of Bosworth may once have been seen as the threshold of a new age, Thomas Cromwell's ministry in the 1530's ormed the watershed between characteristically medieval and characteristically modern forms of government. Henry V11's new monarchy and Cromwells 'revolution in government' are the cause of many contemporary arguments, and henry V111's assault on the church 's wealth overhsadowed the political show trials of Henry V11's reign.
(I hated that year i did Tudor History, it was so complex)

[garybfsl]

The Tudor period was more political than the previous medieval one. It saw the first embryonic cabinet, though under the control of the Monarch rather than a PM. The Tudors were afraid of losing their throne, still insecure in the way they obtained it, not totally sure of the loyalty of their subjects. This resulted in them executing any relative who they considered a threat. A pity that they were unable to supply a direct heir of the Monarch beyond the third generation.

[Lonnie]

Hi dot,
Sorry about that, Excellent history lesson though,

[Elizabeth ll]

I understood that the role of a king is to produce an heir. This is why Henry Vlll systematically did away with his wives who could not produce a legitimate male heir. They also considered themselves to have the last word in all things including who was to marry whom. Henry Vlll ran England with an iron hand,

[fletcher.5]

In answer to the original question, the Roles of Tudor monarchs were to stabilize the country after the dubious manner in which they obtained the crown.
They were also concerned that the emergence & crowning of future Tudor monarchs should be a natural progression, without any potential rivals to their throne, obviously a certain monarch & his hypocritical follies did not endear the tudor house Finally one other omportant matter came in the shape of Power, alliances with other European countries by way of marriage.